Govt promises a permanent venue for Kochi Biennale

Kochi: Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Monday promised to provide a home to country's only Biennale as he inaugurated the third edition of Kochi Muziris Biennale (KMB) here.

"The lack of a permanent venue for the KMB is a serious issue and the state government would implement a project to provide a home to India's only Biennale.

"The ancient history of Kochi is marked with adventure and the idea to organise the Biennale here tells us that there is adventure in its present too. Just as the Biennale created history in Kochi, a permanent venue for the Biennale will also create history," he said.

The state government has allocated a sum of Rs 7.5 crore to organise the Biennale, which is the highest ever funding allotted to an art event by a state government in the country.

Vijayan termed the Biennale a gateway between Kerala and the world through which the diverse expressions of international art and culture move freely and are brought together under one umbrella.

"Though the Biennale is primarily an art event, it has economic and social benefits too. It has energised the tourism sector. The statistics show that lakhs of cultural enthusiasts surged to Kochi from around the different corners of the world to view the first two editions. Both Kochi and Kerala benefit from this influx," he said.

KMB 2016 is being curated by Sudarshan Shetty and is being staged at multiple venues and would run for 108 days.